San Francisco Parks Outrank Those in NYC, Boston, Seattle, Portland

San Francisco has the seventh-best park system in the U.S., outranking those in New York, Boston, Portland, and Seattle, the Trust for Public Land said Tuesday.

The ranking accompanies research asserting that high-scoring cities are healthier places to live, the trust said in a statement.

The trust evaluated park systems in the 100 most populous U.S. cities. Behind San Francisco were Seattle at eighth place, and Portland at ninth. New York and Boston tied for 10th. Washington, D.C., ranked first.

Other Bay Area cities in the rankings were Fremont at 21st, San Jose at 32nd, and Oakland at 50th.

The Trust for Public Land said 100 percent of San Francisco residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. The only other big city to match that was Boston.

San Francisco also leads the nation for spending on its parks, at $480 per resident. The national average among big cities is $108.

Residents in the top 25 cities are 9 percent less likely to report poor mental health, and 21 percent less likely to be physically inactive, compared with those in lower ranking cities, even controlling for factors such as race, income and population density, the trust said.

According to the Trust for Public Land, the 10 highest-ranking park systems in the U.S. are:

1. Washington, DC
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Irvine, CA
5. Arlington, VA
6. Cincinnati, OH
7. San Francisco
8. Seattle, WA
9. Portland, OR
10. New York, NY and Boston, MA (tied)